Using the Suicide Audit Method to Examine Trajectories of Adolescent Girls After a Suicide Attem

Exploring care trajectories after a suicide attempt: study design and aims

• The document situates adolescent suicide risk as a pressing public health issue, with notable increases in ideation, self-harm, and attempts among girls, particularly during the COVID-19 era.
• It notes higher emergency department and hospitalisation rates for suicide-related concerns among adolescent girls, while acknowledging limited evidence on the life courses, needs, and service pathways for this group.

• The work focuses on adolescent girls aged 12–17 who were hospitalised following a suicide attempt in two regions of Quebec, Canada.
• The objective is to illuminate developmental trajectories, catalog services received, and identify individual, relational, and systemic factors that shape these trajectories.
• Aimed outcome is to generate recommendations intended to inform suicide prevention efforts.

• The protocol employs a narrative qualitative design within a community-based research framework.
• Data are planned to be gathered through semi-structured interviews with adolescents and their parents, alongside parent questionnaires and hospital health records.
• Anonymised case vignettes will be constructed from the integrated data across sources.

• A multidisciplinary review panel—including clinicians, health system stakeholders, community partners, and individuals with lived experience—will assess each case.
• The panel’s task is to identify gaps and strengths in care and to develop both case-level and cross-case recommendations.
• These recommendations are intended to inform clinical practice, health policy, and professional training.

• Ethical approval was granted by the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de Chaudière-Appalaches research ethics committee, serving as the primary reviewing REC; administrative reviews are underway at two additional health authorities.
• Plans for dissemination include peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, and knowledge-mobilisation activities with clinical and community partners.
• Outputs are to include practice-oriented tools and accessible materials designed for adolescents and parents.